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My bible and I

My bible and I  Josh 1:8, Ps 119:105

The bible is God’s way of communicating to His children the knowledge of him, His ways, His promises and what he wants us to do.

This post aims to reinforce the action points highlighted in the previous post: ‘new beginning-back to school spiritual preparation’

1)      Have you supported your child to schedule a feasible time for ‘Jesus & me time’?

-Do an assessment daily and at the end of each week, listen to your child’s questions/challenges and agree on a few realistic goals towards growing their relationship with God.

-Does your child need to go to bed early to allow early morning ‘Jesus &me’ time? Make necessary adjustment to accommodate this. e,g  serve dinner on time, schedule devices to go off at a certain time, fix a regular time for bed time prayers so they don’t have to stay up late waiting for prayers etc

-Assign one of the children to remind everyone when it is time for prayer (your children may welcome the idea of making a rota for this as some children love to be given ‘leadership’ roles).

2)  What is your child doing during his/her ‘Jesus &me’ time?

Provide guidelines on what can be done during this time and provide age appropriate resources. Please click here to leave a message if you need help with this including free Christian books.

Some helpful tips:

-You can create a chart where your will child colour/tick what they have done for each day. You can add a photo of your child reading his/her bible to the chart and do a coloured printing.

The columns on the chart includes: Pray, read my bible, write in my journal, meditate on a verse, memorise a verse, practise what I learnt.

*see sample below.

-Give incentives, probably monthly, to encourage your child.

3)      Dad& mum,  

-Assess your personal walk with God regular and lead by example

-Bring to God in prayers whatever  challenges your child mentions during daily/weekly review of their ‘Jesus & me time’

-Schedule quality time to fellowship as a family  (this includes prayer and fasting, bible study, question & answer, sharing testimonies and experiences  (past/current) to edify one another.

Family circle: Take turns to pray for each family member, ask them for what they would like you to pray about.

I pray that God will help us seek after Him whole heartedly that we may find Him in Jesus name. Jer 29:13, Ps 42:1

# Consistency is key
DatePrayRead biblejournalmeditatememoriseWord practice
21/09/2023 √ √  √   
22/09/20232 √ √ √   √ 
23/09/2023 √ √ √ √ √ √

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We are not orphans

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Jn 14:18

Jesus promised to send us the Holy Spirit to abide with us forever Jn 14:16.

This post is to remind us Christians that we are not orphans in this world.  We have the Holy Spirit whose ministry is to help us live a life that is pleasing and acceptable to God in this ungodly world Rom 12:1.

We need the help of the Holy Spirit to keep us holy and blameless till Jesus returns
Eph 4:30, 1Thess 5:23.

As discussed in one of the previous posts, prayer and word are essential nutrients for spiritual growth. It is by the help of the Holy Spirit that we can pray effectively Rom 8:26, James 5:16. Also, it is the Holy Spirit that helps us to understand the Word and do what it says.

A Spirit filled Christian is constantly aware of God’s presence and is able to live in this world without compromise. Praying in the language of the Spirit strengthens our inner man Eph 3:16. Click here to read about how speaking in tongues helps us in our day to day activities.

Family discussion:

  • Have you received the baptism of the Holy Spirit evidenced by speaking in tongues? Has your child received the baptism of the Holy Spirit too? Acts 10:44-48.

You can study the Acts of apostles to learn more about the Holy Spirit. As you do so, express your hunger and desire for the baptism of the Holy Spirit in prayers. You can also read books that can help you understand the ministry of the Holy Spirit more (The Holy Spirit my senior partner by David Yonggi Cho, The Holy Spirit and His gifts by Kenneth E Hagin)

  • “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” Jn 4:24
    Worship is not only in songs, all that we do in our day to day life must be done as an act of worship to glorify God. This implies that our Spirit must be in an ‘activated’ mode always, to connect with the Father and this can only be possible if we have been baptized in the Holy Spirit. Acts 19:3-7.

Reflection: If you have been struggling with your prayer life/bible study or struggling to desist from some bad characters (alcoholism, gossiping, immorality, lying, unforgiveness, bitterness, laziness), ask the Holy Spirit to help you.

Meditation: Encourage all your family members to read/memorize this scripture:
Ps 50:10-12. Spend some time meditating on it and cleanse your heart daily.

Remember, we are not orphans.

Prayer:  Thank you Lord for your Word reminding us of the promise of the Holy Spirit and His assignment on earth. I pray that henceforth, I will take full advantage of the benefits of the Holy Spirit, helping me to live in the world without compromising in any little way in Jesus name. Amen

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Tilling the ground Part 2

Tilling the ground Gen 2:5b

We have established that preparing your spiritual ground is an on-going process and your offspring will grow spiritually as they observe you and learn from your consistent teachings.
Please answer the following questions and decide your next steps based on your answers:
For children < 6years
1) Does your child have a personal space and time to talk to God?
1a)Is this done consistently at least a.m and p.m ? Josh 1:8
2) Does your child have a personal, age appropriate bible? Click here (read the word 001) to see a sample
3) Have you taught your child how to pray? Click here (prayer, part 2) to read more
4) Do you buy age appropriate Christian books to help your children understand the bible more? Click here to request a free book
5) Does your child have an attractive journal that inspires creative writing. It could also be a plain note book, but help them to make writing interesting. Based on their bible study, they can draw, write a poem, make a word cloud from a bible story, make a gratitude list etc

For children > 6 years
In addition to the above,
1) Does your child know the difference between reading and meditating? Click here (what is in your mouth) to see practical example of meditation.
2) Does your child have a structure for studying the bible? It is good to pick random verses sometimes. However, as they grow older and need to feed more on the word, a few random scriptures won’t suffice for their spiritual growth. 1Pet 2:2
3) Have you taught your older children how to pray using scriptures they have been reading and meditating? Job 22:28
( you can request e copy of scripture cards to help them memorize scriptures and then use them in prayers)

4) Do you have a daily devotional for your children. You can request here

*some children may already have the burning passion for a deeper relationship with the Holy Spirit. Encourage them to study Acts of the Apostles to know more about the Holy Spirit and how to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Family discussion: a) Teach your children what to do in their personal space with God. Let them know the importance of interacting with the Hoy Spirit. He is the teacher, helper, counsellor b) Set a regular time for family bible discussion.

Activity: Allow some variety in the mode of teaching you deploy. Use bible games, bible based videos, break the code, fill in the gap, colouring bible verses/bible characters etc (note: these resources are never to replace the bible itself)

Reflection/prayer: Highlight one or two goals as next steps for each child. Work on achieving these goals. You can take baby steps, but consistency is KEY.
Father, thank you for blessing us with these children. Help us to work on our set goals and keep growing spiritually in Jesus name. Amen

#Never too early to start

#Never too late to start

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Tilling the ground

The earth will not yield its increase if there is no man to till the ground and no rain Gen 2:5b

What is tilling? it is a process of getting the soil ready for planting. It involves mixing organic matter into the soil and breaking up crusted soil.

To get the best out of the soil of our lives and that of our children, someone has to labour to prepare the soil, then God sends the rain, then we reap the harvest.

Tilling in a spiritual context means preparing our hearts to receive the rain of the Spirit.

How do we till our spiritual ground?

The most essential element is salvation which reconciles us with the father and provides the opportunity to develop a relationship with Him (Jn 3:16) by the help of the Holy Spirit (Jn 14:16)

1)Prepare the ground with required spiritual nutrients

a) Word: The word of God is food for our Spirit 1Pet 2:2. Take advantage of the numerous resources available online and offline to help us feed on the word e.g sermons, books.

Note: Nothing can replace personal study and meditation on the word alongside interaction with the Holy Spirit. You must schedule time for this day and night Josh 1:8

(the hyperlinks make reference to previous notes-‘what is in your mouth’ and ‘Holy Sprit and you Part 2’)

b)Prayer: Whenever you study the word, you will definitely know what to pray. Pray based on your understanding of the word to establish promises/ prophecies and receive grace to imbibe the principles you have learnt.

Prayer will also loosen the soil of your heart, shape your character, purge (cleanse) you and make you ready to receive the rain of God’s presence.

Remember the devil is looking for who to devour and sows tares when men sleep (1Pet 5:8; Matt 13:25). Prayer and the word will make your spiritual ground unsuitable for any seeds of the devil (such as bad character, infirmities, divorce, violence, alcoholism, indecent dressing) to germinate. This will only happen if you do what the word says by the help of the Holy Spirit.

Preparing your spiritual ground is an on-going process, but it is important that you have gotten this right before your children start arriving. If you haven’t or you are still inconsistent, now is the time to start working on the ground of your heart and do so consistently.

As you receive the rain of the Spirit and you are well nourished, you will not struggle to nurture the seeds (your offspring). If you are firmly rooted in the soil that has been well prepared (and is still being nourished continuously and consistently), your fruits will definitely be well nourished and grow as they should.

Next time, we will talk about how to help the fruits retain the nourishment. They must also learn by observation and be taught actively to till their own ground  as they grow.

Reflection: Pls examine your spiritual soil. Is it lacking nutrients? Examine your children’s spiritual soil, is it well nourished?

Prayer: Father, we thank you for this word. We pray that you help us identify any spiritual nutrient that we are missing and help us to invest time into feeding on your word.

Be an example in Spirit

In this post, we will discuss practical ways of existing as a spirit living in a body in a physical world.

God is spirit and he made man to exist as spirit living in the body. The Bible makes it

clear to us that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. 1Cor6:19 . Please refer

to previous posts to read about who the Holy Spirit is and how we can build intimacy

with Him.

Intimate fellowship with the Holy Spirit is not for adults only, children can also

develop close friendship with the Holy Spirit. Refer to the e-book titled ‘Close friendship

with Holy Spirit for Children’ or request for a copy if you don’t have one, then support

your children to go through the activities in the book.

Since we cannot see the human spirit, the best way to be an example in spirit is by

demonstrating the fruit of our Holy spirit influenced spirit. This post is to share

examples, so let’s begin by looking at the dimensions of the Holy Spirit that we can

relate to in our physical world. The fruit of the Spirit are essential for us as Christians,

it shows that we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us.

Activity

Children < 6yrs: Ensure that they know the nine elements of the fruit of the Spirit. Gal 5:22-23

Explain why it is fruit and not fruits. The Holy Spirit dwells in us and all the fruit and

gifts of the Holy Spirit are all in one Holy Spirit. It is not possible to have love and not

have goodness. However, it is possible to have developed kindness but still have to

do more work to develop self-control.

Older children: You can make a tree and branches out of pipe cleaners. Then write

out each element of the fruit of the Spirit on a strip of paper. Each time a child

demonstrates love, ask him/her to hang that strip on the tree. At the end of the week,

see how fruitful or bare the tree is and give a reward for fruitfulness.

Alternatively, on a Jesus thumbs up chart, your older children can have an additional

column where they write down what element of the fruit of the Spirit was expressed

strongly each day. A sample of the chart is available as an appendix of the e book

recommended above.

As a family, help each other (without being judgemental) to identify what elements

each person already expresses abundantly and which ones they need to improve on.

Highlight ways for improvement and pray together asking for the help of the Holy

Spirit.

For example, one child may show kindness by helping his/her siblings to fill their

water bottle every morning while another child may demonstrate patience whenever

mum is busy cooking and can not immediately support home learning as planned.

A father may self-control when a child consistently behaves in a way that could

provoke anger and shouting. As a family, you may find it easy to show gentleness

even when neighbours are noisy and annoying.

Celebrate and applaud one another for the elements you have developed so well

and then prayerfully support one another to develop areas where you need

improvement.

Prayer circle: Father, thank you for the Holy Spirit dwells in us and we have fruit and

gifts of the Spirit. Help us to manifest the fruit and gifts as children of God should in

Jesus name.

Be an example in faith

Be an example in faith 1Tim 4:12

As you may remember, this year God is calling us to live an exemplary life. We have also established in previous posts that being an example doesn’t mean you are perfect. It means you have something helpful to share with other believers through your own experience and way of life.

In this post, we will discuss how to be an example in faith.

What is faith? Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Heb 11:1

The bible tells us that faith without works (action) is dead. James 2:17

So simply put, we are encouraged to show examples through our faith-based actions. For instance:

  1. Be an example in public confession of your faith Rom 6:3-7

Have you and your children been baptised in water? Although the son of God, Jesus in obedience to the father was baptised to show us an example. Matt 3:13-17

Do you believe and accept Jesus as your saviour? Your public confession to show that you have faith in the work of redemption is water baptism.

Take a step today for yourself, if you haven’t and encourage your older children to do the same.

You can contact RGC team using the comment box below if you need guidance on how to support your children to get baptised.

Activity 1:

  • Find out the process for water baptism at your local church
  • Enrol your children on baptism class where they can be supported to make an informed decision
  • Schedule a date for the baptism
  • 2) Show by example that you have faith in God’s word about covenant supplies

If you have faith that God is the supplier, add action by engaging in covenant practices as instructed in the bible-tithing, offering, giving to the poor Mal 3:10, James 1:27.

Be an example to your children by letting them know when you do these actions. Give them offering when you attend church meetings. Encourage them to tithe, allow them put items in the food bank or through any other means of giving that God has laid on your heart.

3) Show example that you have faith in being God’s workmanship

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Eph2:10

Have you found out your purpose? How can you add competence to your giftings?

Activity 2:

  • Ask every member of the family to write down at least one thing they like doing and they do so well. These are called talents and they are pointers to divine purpose.

Help each child to understand Eph 2:10. We have been created to do what God planned before we were born. Jer 1:5

  • Then, support each child to add action to their faith in this word. Draw out a plan of how to add skills to the identified talents and consistently use them to glorify God.

For example, one of the children at RGC is using her baking skills to make cookie alphabets that toddlers at church use to have fun learning about God. Another child is using his digital music creation skills to organise songs for worship concerts.

A child that loves digital design can produce scripture cards, use paintings to explain bible verses.

A child that loves crafts can make lovely items to beautify your home and your local church

*Remember, whatever has value cannot be despised.

Please add to the comment box how you have been using your talents to fulfil divine purpose.

Family circle: Father, we thank you for your word to us today. Help us identify our talents and invest time to multiply these talents to the glory of your name.

Call: Aroyewuns family bible time (substitute your family name)

Response: From generation to generation

#Faith and action

Leave a comment

Be an example in conduct

In this family bible time post, we will focus on showing Godly example by conduct. 1Tim 4: 12

Conduct refers to behaviour. Behaviour means managing our actions in a proper manner.

Conduct and attitude are linked to each other. Conduct refers to the observable actions while attitude refers to the mindset that shapes behaviour.

Activity 1

Ask the children to describe how they can show examples of good conduct at home or in public e.g school grocery store, church etc.

Explain that being an adult is not a reason to misbehave. Children sometimes think that

once they clock 18, they have become adults and can do whatever they want.

Share with them examples of how you conduct yourself at work.

Activity 2

Ask them to give examples of people in the bible who were of good conduct and explain what mindset (attitude) shaped their  behaviour. What lessons did they learn from those bible characters?

Biblical examples:

Joseph’s refusal to commit sin with Potiphar’s wife Gen 39:7-10

Joseph’s attitude in this story can be attributable to his fear of God. You can also read Gen 37: 2 to see how Joseph reported his brother’s bad behaviour because he didn’t agree with their wrong doings.

Daniel’s outstanding excellence throughout his years in Babylon: The bible tells us how Daniel was a young man determined to please God always. He was an habitual ‘God pleaser’, and this made him conduct himself properly even in a strange land. Dan 1:8, Dan 6:10-13.

These examples show that these people had an attitude influenced by their relationship with God.

(Please share in the comment box other examples you discuss in your family).

Activity 3

Ask each family member to describe their attitude to personal and family altar. Refer to previous posts on attitude.

For example, in my mind, I believe looking into God’s word daily is a way of hearing from God, either getting an instruction for the day, a word of wisdom to guide me or a promise I should pray and expect the manifestation in my life. Therefore, I don’t want to miss my bible study time and  that influences my conduct at family or personal bible study time.

Children less than 8 years: support them to draw a seed and a tree. Explain that the seed is the attitude and we can’t see it once it is planted, but the tree is the behaviour we see.

Alternatively, you can actually get a seed(bean seed) and support your child to plant it in a plant pot or plastic cup to illustrate your example.

Further discussion: Cite a practical example to explain this further:

You can explain how bad attitude to learning a subject can lead to not doing the home work for that subject well.

You can also explain how the wrong mindset about money and how it should be used can lead to bad behaviour like saving no money.

Activity 4:

Ask each person to write down how they can be an example in conduct and follow-up to ensure that it is done.

For example, I want to be an example in behaviour after playing a board game at family time. My mindset is that I am having fun with my family while playing the game, I won’t allow the scores to take away my happiness or behave in a way that will make someone else unhappy. This attitude will guide my behaviour either I win or lose.

# Be of good conduct

# Attitude check

Family circle: Father, we thank you for your word to us today. Help us to pay attention to our attitude and show example of good conduct always in Jesus name.

Call: Aroyewuns family bible time (substitute your family name)

Response: From generation to generation

Be an example in word

Welcome to another family bible time. As you may remember, our focus for the year is being an exemplary family 1Tim 4:12-13. Apostle Paul in this scripture speaking to Timothy listed some aspects of life through which we can show Godly example.

In this post, we are talking about showing Godly example in word/ speech/ conversations. Our words and conversations speaks volume about us, it reveals our nature, it shows if we are quiet, loud, gentle, kind, wicked, loving, angry, wise, foolish, Godly, worldly and many more …

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. Luke 6:45

Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions. Matt 7:20

It is important to focus on our words and conversations as a means of showing Godly example to our family members, believers and everyone. Words can either build up or tear down.

Prov 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

Prov 12:18 There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword, But the tongue of the wise promotes health.

Activity 1: Share personal experiences when people’s words have helped or hurt you.

Activity 2: Mention the kinds of words or conversations that can tear down or hurt people (Let the children give examples, then adults can give more examples like cursing, dirty jokes, mockery, taunting etc)

We can be Godly examples by ensuring our words and conversations build people up instead of tearing people down.

Let us see what the word of God says about the use of words:

Take turns to read these bible verses and give room for meditation. Explain the key words in the verses to the children to help their understanding. Let each family member think about how they will apply these verses to guide their speech.

Eph 4:29; Col 4:6; Prov 16:24; Prov 15:1

For example: Pr 15:1 talks about what will happen when we speak calmly compared to the result of speaking unkind words.

Biblical examples: Read about Rehoboam’s answer to the elders and what happened to his kingdom. 1Kg 12: 13-19

Read about Nabal’s answer to David’s request vs Abigail’s response and what was the result of each person’s words. 1Sam 25:10,23-28.

Key point: T-H-I-N-K (T- true, H- helpful, I- inspiring, N- necessary, K- kind) before you talk. Phi 4: 8 provides guidance for our thoughts:

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Family circle: Pray asking God to help each member of the family learn to use our words in a way that blesses other people and glorifies God.

Be an example of love

In this family bible time post, we will start off our exploration of the theme for this year by discussing love. I Tim 4:12

How can we exemplify love as a family? The best way to be an example is in ‘the doing’.

Before we consider this, let’s take a look at our family. Each member of the family has a role to play to show love and respond to love appropriately.

Refer to the previous post ‘ love in the family‘. This post will help to steer a conversation around how fathers or mothers or children show love alongside activities to encourage participation.

Activity one:

How can you show love to one another?

Suggestions: write down each person’s name and then randomly pick one name. You will pray for that person for the week (You can ask for a prayer request).

You can plan a little surprise for someone in your family. E.g write a thank you note and place it where it will be noticed.

Afterwards, consider the activity below. (Note: Your family can show love to others even when you are still working towards becoming an admirable example of love. Looking beyond your immediate family will help you to grow in love).

Activity two:

Mapping our neighbours: Make a list of people you may consider as your neighbours. Then, suggest how you can show love to them (e.g giving your time to check on them virtually or in-person;  sharing resources like educational links).

Agree on things you can do regularly or occasionally e.g food bank donation, clothes/shoes donation etc.

Be genuine and be consistent. Other families will soon learn from you.

God bless you.

An exemplary family

Let no one despise thy youth ITim 4:12

Paul admonished Timothy not to let anyone despise his youth.

Activity 01: Explain the meaning of despise (to feel a strong dislike for someone or something because you think that person or thing is bad or has no value)

Activity 02: Has anyone despised you (looked down on you like someone that adds no value) previously or recently?

Activity 03: Is it possible that you despise yourself?

Do you allow thoughts like ‘I don’t have any talent’; ‘I don’t know how to do any special thing like my siblings or friends’.

For example, I didn’t know how to draw or play musical instruments neither did I do any sports or baking. But, I loved looking after babies. I didn’t know that was a special ability that was preparing me for my divine assignment but I realized that it wasn’t every child of my age that had that ability. Many mothers observed that ability at that time and loved to leave their babies in my care at Sunday school but I could only take one baby at a time! 😊

Help your child to identify their abilities and encourage them to add value to themselves. Please refer to the post on ‘Discovering of purpose’ and parable of the talents Matt 25:14-30.

If you have despised your youth or you have not seen the worth of the abilities you have, here are some suggestions for you:

  1. Talk to God, thank him for the abilities you have and pray that He will help you to add value to them.
  2. Be an example-An example is obvious, it stands out. Read our text again and ask the Holy Spirit to help you to be an example. When you know your worth, you won’t let anyone look down on you. In fact, people won’t be able to despise you even if they don’t really agree with what you stand for as a Christian.

Family circle:

Father, as we set out on this journey of being an exemplary family, we pray that you will help us to be consistent in living an exemplary life style in Jesus name.

Taking territories_what is missing?

We thank God for helping us to sharpen the tools needed for taking territories- divine presence, strength, courage, fearlessness and godly relationships (Josh 1:9). There’s an important question we have to answer-Have you made a move(s) towards possessing territories?

Joshua and the people of Israel were strengthened by knowing that God’s presence was with them. They were courageous and ready to take possession of Jericho. God gave them a divine strategy. Josh  6:2-5. They followed the instructions God gave them through his servant, Joshua. Finally, at the blast of the trumpet the seventh time, on the seventh day, the walls of Jericho fell flat.

Josh 6:20c, ………so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city.

A crucial step that we must take every time we are ready to possess a gate or dominate a sphere of influence is to make a move.

If you have been gathering and sharpening your tools, your skills— physical, spiritual, academic, financial, social— and supporting your children to do likewise, that is not the end. Identify the right strategy for each territory you are looking to possess, then make a move.

For example, if you have identified a strategy for invoking divine presence in your city center such as playing live or karaoke worship at a park. Make a move…collaborate with the people in your network (refer to previous post) and get started.

If you have identified your role in possessing the gates of education in any country. What is your strategy? Maybe stocking school libraries with good, motivational, inspirational books and Christian biographies/Christian children books. What are you still waiting for? Make that phone call or send an email to the headteacher and get started.

Are you sent to rescue the fashion industry from moral decadence. Wait on God for the right strategy and get on the job. Maybe signup as a volunteer to run an after school club with a focus on dressing. Teach children about beauty and modesty. Do some demonstrations and probably give some clothing items as gifts to the children in your group.

I pray that the blessing of God will rest upon your moves and bless our efforts to yield great results.

“24The Lord bless you and keep you;25 the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;26 the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” Num 6:24-26.

#Make a move

Taking territories by Godly relationships

Texts: Josh 1:16; Josh 2

Praise God for territories that have been conquered since the beginning of the year.

Activity 1:
As a family, take some minutes to recount your victories and give God thanks generously.
We are pressing forward to possess more territories in the second half of the year 2025. In this FBT post, we will be looking at another vital key which is ‘Godly relationships’

Joshua had people in his network that collaborated with him to possess more land by divine direction.
The people of Israel said to him in Josh 1:16- Then they answered Joshua, “Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. They pledged their commitment to support Joshua their leader making it easier for Joshua to lead them. They also reminded him of the words the Lord spoke to Joshua before-‘be strong and of good courage’ Josh 1:18b.

Activity 2:
Take a look at your social network, do you have people that can support you in achieving your set goals and vision? Ask each family member to talk about their network. You can show this on a diagram of concentric circles, listing those that are closest to you in the innermost circle.

What have you found out from this exercise? Do you connect and associate with Godly people as a family? Do your children have Godly friends that they can work with to uphold Godly standards and fulfil purpose. 2nd Cor 6:14.

Josh 2 tells us about the spies of Joshua.
Activity 3:
Tell this story to your children. Compare and contrast what the spies of Moses did (Num 13) with what the spies of Joshua accomplished (Josh 2). You can use the following sub-headings: number of spies, who chose them, what did they report, what was the reaction of the people to their report, what were the results?

Again, this story shows that with the right people around you, you can pull down ‘Jericho walls’ and possess your land of inheritance. If you surround yourself with the wrong people, you will be restricted, you may live in fear and you will not take the necessary steps at the right time.

Activity 4:
Look at your social network diagram again. Can you identify relationships that are productive and those that are not?
Are you even utilizing the Godly relationships around you as much as God intends? Find out the answers to these questions by praying and asking the Holy Spirt to search your friendships and networks. Ask Him to disconnect you from wrong relationships and help you to accept the right ones He is bringing your way. Support your children to pray about their friendships also.

Take action:
Joshua took action steps by discussing with the people of Israel and choosing spies. You must take action to utilize the Godly relationships around you.

Some suggestions:
Plan a get together to know each other more and agree on what you could do together regularly to sharpen each other’s sword. You could meet online or offline for prayer/fasting; family day trips; share what you have been learning in your bible study.

Some actions need to be taken as a family towards building Godly family relationships while each family member also needs to take action towards developing Godly relationships that are personal to them e.g your children’s friends. Support them to identify how they can utilize their network to develop their relationship with God sharpening each other’s sword.

# building Godly relationships

Worship and prayer

In the first half of this year, we have had series of family bible time posts discussing our territorial dominion.

Drawing insights from Josh 1:9, I trust God that we are increasing in strength, courage and fearlessness, abiding with God always.

We will discuss a lot more about the last bit of that verse ‘the Lord your God will be with you’. God is omnipresent, but we have a role to play in securing his divine presence.

Are you a true worshipper? John 4:24

Do you pray effectively? James 5:16

Do your children understand worship?

 Do your children pray effectively?

Worship and prayer can be taught. Yes, your children can learn by observation but there is a place for active teaching too.

Activity 1: Together with your children, come up with a plan of when and how they can learn to worship effectively.

  • For example, Ps 134:2- Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord.

When you read a psalm during worship or sing a song, encourage your children to do the action-Lift up both hands with excitement or clap or dance or use musical instrument (you can create simple ones like shakers).

  • Allow your children to take turns in leading praise and worship sessions at the family altar and encourage them to practice this in their personal devotion too.
  • You can create a family play list using Spotify, for instance, and ensure that your children learn the lyrics of the songs. To do this, ask each family member to suggest songs that they wish to include on the list. You can suggest that they list songs that ignites their spirit to worship whenever they hear it.

Occasionally, it may be helpful to do a video recording for a few minutes during a worship or prayer session. In a relaxed family time, play the recording to allow everyone see how well they are engaging with worship or prayer.

Activity 2: Together with your children, come up with a plan of when and how they can learn to pray effectively.

  • Firstly, you can ask from them why they are struggling with improving their prayers. It may be because they don’t know what else to pray or they think you are praying too many times. Answer their questions using scriptures e.g 1Thess 5:17; Mark 1:35-39; Daniel 6:10
  • Secondly, pay attention to meditation and memorizing bible verses. For instance, you can pick a verse for the week and meditate on it every night. You may print and paste it or create small cards to help everyone to memorize the verse. Then, teach your children how to use these bible verses for effective prayer.
  • Thirdly, you can encourage them to a keep a gratitude list so that they don’t run out of what to say during thanksgiving prayers. Also, ask each member of the family to raise prayer requests so that you all know what to pray about using scriptures.
  • Fourthly, allow the  children to take turns in leading prayer sessions daily.

Finally, pray that God will baptize everyone of you with the Holy Spirit. With help from the Holy Spirit, we can continue to grow deeper in worship and prayers and abide in God’s presence always.

# True worship

# I will pray

The Lord is with you

The Lord is with you Josh 1:9

Greetings to all strong, courageous and fearless families. In this FBT post, we will be discussing another important key to possessing more territories-‘The Lord your God is with you wherever you go’.

We will look at this scripture alongside the promise Jesus made to send us the HolySpirit Jn 14:16

In the old testament, the people of God were reassured of God’s presence through physical manifestations like cloud, pillar of fire, smoke etc Ex 19:9,18, Ex 13:21.

In the new testament, the same promise was given to us that God will be with us forever through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit Jn 14:16-18.

If we are to take territories as Joshua did, we must be conscious of the presence of God. We must ask ourselves some important questions.

Activity 1: Am I saved and do I have assurance that the Holy Spirit dwells in me? Ask each member of the family this question.

In previous posts about the Holy Spirit Parts 1-3, we discussed about the Holy Spirit-who He his and His role in our lives. Please refer to that post.

In the short clip, retelling the Easter story, we explained the need for baptism of the Holy Spirit following the experience of salvation that is accompanied by the Holy Spirit dwelling in us.

Now, we must pay attention to this subject-Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Yes, it is true that if you are saved, the Holy Spirit lives in you. However, the scripture establishes that believers require a baptism of the Holy Spirit evidenced by speaking in tongues.

Please read and understand the following verses:

Luke 11:13, Acts 2: 38-39, Acts 8:12-17, Acts 10:44-46, Acts 19:2-7

Activity 2: Have I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit? Ask each family member this question.

Beyond the first experience of speaking in tongues, every believer must be hungry and thirsty for more of what the Holy Spirit gives a believer.

Acts 1:8

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Let’s see some examples of what the power of the Holy Spirit can help us achieve:

  • It confers boldness and confidence to share the gospel (Acts 4:31),

That confidence can also be utilized at school and in the work place to make an excellent presentation for instance.

  • It heals all kinds of infirmities (Acts 19: 11-12). That power can also heal emotional hurt and help us deal with malice, bitterness etc
  • It helps to overcome negative attitudes and never miss doing the bad things that you once delighted in doing Acts 9:17,20.

Activity 3: Share with one another experiences of how the power of the Holy Spirit has helped you.

Conclusion:

Regardless of the depth you have attained in God, there is still more. Keep growing in your intimacy with God and you will conquer more territories.

Family circle:

Pray that you will grow deeper in your fellowship with the Holy Spirit in Jesus name.

#God is with you always

#Be conscious of divine presence

Recommended reading:

Study the Acts of the Apostles with your children

Tongues: Beyond the upper room By Kenneth Hagin

God’s generals for Kids By Roberts Liardon